Heel.



P. L. ALLEY.

HEEL.

APPLIGATION FILED Nov. e. 189e.

979,241 l Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

FREDERICK L. ALLEY, 0F SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, 0E PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

HEEL.

Specication of Letters latent.

Patented Dec. 2o, 1910.

Application filed November 6, 1899. Serial No. 735,948.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. ALLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing .at San Francisco, in the county' of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heels; and I do' hereby declare the following to be a ful l,vclear, and eXactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe ait to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to boots and shoes and more particularly to improvements in the heels of boots and slices.

It has been found desirable to provide boots and shoes with resilient or elastic heels for the purpose of relieving a person from the' shock incident to walking upon hardsidewalks and many forms of such heels have been produced, the mostcommon form of such heels comprising a rubber or other elastic lift or heel section, arranged to be secured to the tread surface of a vleather heel, and such elastic heel section is .pared with the ordinary and usual leather heel. The application of the rubber heel section to the tread .face of the leather heel has been deemed objectionable by many persons for the reason that it deadens the footfall, conveying the impression that the wearer of slices provided with suclrheels, is wearing rubbers. Moreover, the rubber not being as capable of resisting wear as leather, is constantly wearing out by reason of its Contact with the sidewalk and has frequently to be renewed.

The object of the present invention is to produce an elastic or cushion heel which shall overcome the objections to the ordinary rubber heel as now made, and shall possess all the advantages possessed by the usual leather heel.

To the above end the present invention The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in-ivhich* .Figure 1 shows in longitudinal vertical section a fragment of a boot or slice with my improved lheel attached thereto. Fig. Q illustrates a top plan view of aheel. removed fromthe shoe. Fig. 3 illustrates a bottom plan view. of the heel with the top lift removed. Fig. l shows a longitudinal vertical section through the heel'. on line .fc- Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represent-s a y tool-or device used in manufacturing the elastic section of the improved heel and illustrates a section taken on the line Fig. 5.

lngthe drawing A represents a fragment of aboot or shoe-comprising the usual insole a and outsole-f1.1. i

The improvedrheel is Yshown atfB and i.

.preferably coin-prises a cushion section b, a rand b1, and a top or tread lift The cushion section .b consists of a rubber or other elastic lift 11 inclosed between two substantially non-elastic lifts 1l1 and 1*?, the y saidbolts d being received between the lift l 111 and the rubber lift 1. The bolts rl receive on their threaded ends burs or nuts Z1 and cl2, the nuts 'd1 being screwed down tightly against the upper surface-of thel rand h1, and the nuts (l2 vbeing adapted to be screwed down tightly against the upper surface of the insole a in securing the heel to the shoe. For the purpose of att-aching the top lift b2, the lift 12 is provided with a plurality of pointed tacks e which are driven through from the under side so that the heads thereof are between the lift 112 and the rubber lift 1', and the top lift b2 is spanked on to the projecting points of the tacks e in the usual manner of attaching top-lifts. v In manufacturing the improved heel, th fastenings d and e are put through the re-y speetive lifts r1 and@2 and said lifts* are placed upon each side of the rubber lift 1' so as to brinar the heads of the fastenings ios next to the said rubber lift, and the lifts r, 171 and 'r2 are then united by stitches c preferablyA-.- formed by means of some suitable sewmgzaginachine. After the lifts of the cushion section have been sewed together as described, the rand b1 is placed over the ends of the bolt-s d and the nuts Z1 screwed down tightly. The heel in t-his condition is securedto the shoe by passing the ends of bolts d through the apertures made in the soles a1 and a of the shoe and the nuts d2 screwed down tightly against the upper surface fof-the insole, after which the. projecting ends ofthe bolts are cut off and coveredup by the usual lsock lining of the slice. After the-body of they heel has been attached, the

top liftis spanked on, or if desired it may be attached before the heel is secured to the booter shoe. j l

Itwvill be noted that by arranging-111e fastenings d and e in the manner shown, the

elasticity of the rubber lift r is not impaired. It will be furthernoted that by interposing the elastic lift between the non-elastic lifts that the heel possesses every appearance of the usual leather heel, that a comparatively thin rubber lift maybe employed, greatly lessening the -wei htof theheel andcheap` ening cost o roduction as compared wlth the rubber hee now m' general use'.

It is of course understoodjthat the rubber ,liftlshould not be'unduly compressed during the process of sewin the lifts 1", i .and r2 together, and' in the ,c rawings thereis illustrated a simple device to be employed during the sewing operation to sustain the pressure exerted by the usual work clamping instru'- mentalities of the sewing machine and prevent 4the compression of the rubber lift.-

This device consists of a frame l made of some suitable rigid material, and preferabl)-7 formed of two members 2 and 3 hinged together, as atl, andprovided with a suitable atcb, as l5. The frame l has an openmg 6 of a size and shape to receive the rubber lift r, it being as'shown in Fig. 6 of substantially the saine thickness as said rubber lift, so

thatvvhen4 said lift is received in the. frame its u Vper and lower surfaces will be 1n substantially the plane of the surfaces of the tached to the shoe, the leather lifts will bei" trimmed oit to the size of the rubber lift and the heel finished in any suitable or usual manner.

ear-aaai Y If desired the. rubber lift may be cut` ott' as shown by vthe dotted line n in Fig. 1 and the frontpart of such lift formed of leather` thus permitting the driving through theV front section of the heel of the usual hee-l attaching nails.

It is to be noted that by attaching the heel to the shoe by means of the upper inelastic lift or layer, the elastic lift is unaffected by said fastening means, and furthermore that the elastic lift is left uncompressedl by the independent fastening means for holding the layers of the heel together, thereby preserving all of its natural elasticity.

Having thus described -my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States v1. A heel for boots or shoes, having, in combination, three layers below the sole of the boot or shoe, of which the central one is composed of compressible material, and compressible means passing through the three layers along their marginal portions and securing them together independent of the sole of the shoe, with the central layer entire area, substantially as described.

2. A heel for boots or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer, a relatively incompressible attaching layer on one side ofthe cushion layer adapted to be nailed. or secured to a boot 0r shoe, and a relatively incompressible facing layer on the opposite side of the cushion layer,

adapted not only to protect the cushion layer, but also to serve asa base of attachment of a to -lift, the said layers being con nected by exible stitches which are engaged with the attaching and facing layers and pass through the cushion layer, the flexibility of the stitches ena-hline' them to slackenand permit the compression of thecushion layer, and the stitches bein adapted to be returned to normal condition by the elasticity of the cushion layer'after being compressed in use, substantially as described.

3. A heel for boots or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer, relatively incompressible layers on either side thereof, and connecting means passin through the cushion layers and fixed in bot incompressible layers7 the said connecting means being of compressible but mextensible nature, substantially as described.

' Ll. A heel for boots or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer,rela tively incompressible layers on either side thereof, connecting means passing through the cushion layers and lixed in both incompressible layers, the said connectin means being of compressible but inextensiblenature, means engaging only the upper mcompressible layer forsecurmg the heel to a shoe, 'and means engaging only the loyer;

vin uncompressed condition throughout its incom ressible layer for securing thereto the top litt.- substantially as described.

5. A heel'for boots' or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer, relatively incom ressible layers on either side thereof, an connecting means passing through the cushion layer and tixedto both incompressible layers, the'said means securing the three layers together substan-v tial-ly4 without compression on the elastic layer and consistinfr of compressible but inextensible materia substantially as described.

6. A heel for boots or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer, a relativelyincompressible top Alayer secured thereto by stitching, and a top lift wholly secured to the heel by means independentof the stitching and engaging only the top layer, substantially as described.

T. A heel for' boots or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer, a relatively incompressible attaching layer adapted to 'be nailed or secured to the boot or shoe, stitches passing through the said layers tor securing them together, and a facing covering the bottoms of the stitches tb pre'- Y vent W ar thereon, substantially as described. s

.8. A heel for boots' or shoes, having, in combination, an elastic cushion layer, a rela'- tively incompressible top layer secured thereto by stitching, and fasteners passed through the top layer from the inside and projecting at intervals therefrom Iaround its entire perimeter for securing thereto the top lift. substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature, in presenceof'two witnesses.

FREDERICK L. ALLEY. `Witnesses Trios. J. OCoNNoR, HENRY DWDEN, Jr. 

